BIG RAPIDS – One simple statement characterizes Ferris State University: “If it hadn’t
been for Ferris…”

Many
Ferris graduates will note “If it hadn’t been for Ferris…” they would
not be where they are today. Alumni credit the school’s faculty and
staff with giving them educational opportunities not found elsewhere.

The
vision for educational opportunities for all began 125 years ago when
Woodbridge N. and Helen Gillespie Ferris came to Big Rapids with the
dream of creating a school catering to the general masses. On Sept. 1,
1884, Big Rapids Industrial School welcomed its first class of 15
students. Today, more than 13,500 students call Ferris home, studying
not only at the university’s main campus in Big Rapids, but in Grand
Rapids and more than 20 off-campus sites